The hits

ART

''It's rare to see so many people in galleries as during the festival and the Centre for Contemporary Photography has been buzzing - literally, as sensors have been installed to protect Gregory Crewdson's cinematically inclined photographs from those who like to rub noses with their art. Most chatter was of the 'Oooh, it's so big' variety but it's great to see people enjoying art so freely and frankly.''

DYLAN RAINFORTH

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THEATRE

''Highlights include Nilaja Sun's powerful one-woman show No Child …, The Rabble's sexy and subversive adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando, and the irresistible carnival charm of La Soiree.''

CAMERON WOODHEAD

HUB

''The past few years have been dogged by the absence of a Festival Hub worthy of the title, but this year Brett Sheehy and crew have nailed it. Instead of adapting existing spaces, as was previously the case, they've built it from the ground up, and it probably cost a pretty penny, too. But as somewhere to catch up between shows that is itself a creative work, it's worth it.''

JOHN BAILEY

The misses

OPERA

"Biggest disappointment of the festival so far was Michel van der Aa's After Life. The purgatorial contemporary opera left us in limbo with the decision to half-stage it at the Regent Theatre. Apparently on opening night there were a large number of walk-outs from the dress circle (which at the Regent is miles away from the stage), and it took a few champagnes at the after-party for the bitching to subside."

CAMERON WOODHEAD

DANCE

It's hard not to like Never Did Me Any Harm, but it's not a work to go gaga over. Inspired by Christos Tsiolkas' The Slap, it's a series of sequences that don’t add up to something bigger.

"The things I'm hearing the most excitement about are Gob Squad's Before Your Very Eyes, performed entirely by teens; The Rabble's Orlando, a reimagining of Virginia Woolf's novel; and Polyglot's How High the Sky, devised for an audience of one-year-and-unders."

JOHN BAILEY

DANCE

"I can't wait to see what (new artistic director) Anouk van Dijk does with Chunky Move in the Myer Music Bowl this week."

JORDAN BETH VINCENT

CLASSICAL MUSIC

"Once again we've been let down in the classical musical field. Only eight concerts, and the guests from overseas (violinists Hahn-Bin and Tim Fain and pianists Duo Amal) are one-day wonders. The rest are locals ... We're very grateful to hear them but we could at any time. Buzz? You're joking. We're disappointed."